GBH named Dan Lothian editor-in-chief of the station’s newsroom and The World.
Lothian, who joined GBH in 2021, is currently EP of The World, the daily global news program produced by the station and PRX. He started in the new role Saturday and succeeded Pam Johnston, who held the title of GM.
As part of the change, Tinku Ray, managing editor of The World, will be promoted to executive editor of the program and will report to Lothian. Lee Hill, executive editor of GBH’s newsroom, will also report to Lothian.
“We have the opportunity to bring our audience stories by connecting the global to the local, while simultaneously delivering the critical information they need to be informed and engaged citizens,” said Lothian in a news release. “In addition, today’s environment requires a focus on innovation. To reach a wider audience, we have to find new ways and platforms to share these stories. I’m looking forward to working with all of my colleagues and partners to support the excellent journalism they produce every day.”
Emily Barocas was appointed deputy managing editor of digital for NPR.
Barocas first joined NPR in 2003 as an assistant editor for Morning Edition. She left in 2007 to work as a communications director for congressional leaders.
Barocas rejoined NPR in 2016 as content partnership lead of NPR One. She was also senior supervising editor of NPR One and most recently worked as deputy director of digital platforms and creation.
She “will continue to be a key driver of strategy for the NPR app and she’ll retain NPR’s newsletter portfolio,” wrote VP and Executive Editor Eva Rodriguez in a staff memo. “She will also take stewardship of NPR.org’s homepage, a structural change that allows us to optimize the audience experiences on our owned and operated platforms.”
Barocas will report to Rodriguez until a managing editor for audience, growth and engagement is hired.
Kevin Donahue was hired as the next editor for Billy Penn, an online news site operated by WHYY in Philadelphia.
Donahue succeeds Danya Henninger, who left Billy Penn last year. He starts June 17.
In addition to the top role, he will be senior director of news specialty products and will manage The Pulse, a weekly health, science and innovation program. He will also lead PlanPhilly, which does in-depth reporting on the city.
Donahue most recently worked as director of content and publications for Universal Health Services. He has also been a senior managing editor for online at Men’s Health, managing editor for the Philadelphia Business Journal, director of site operations for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a sports copy editor for the Philadelphia Daily News.
“Kevin is first and foremost a seasoned media executive who is no less comfortable in general news making as he is with building news franchises like Billy Penn, PlanPhilly and The Pulse,” said WHYY CEO Bill Marrazzo in a news release. “We’re quite fortunate to have him join our news leadership team as we face several opportunities to grow our newsroom’s impact on our regional marketplace.”
Create TV announced the grand prize and second-prize winners of its 2024 Create Cooking Challenge.
Scott Meeks of Alexandria, Va., won first place for this year’s “Easy Peasy” cooking theme, which focused on recipes featuring six ingredients or less. His Sweet Tea Barbecue recipe earned him $4,000 and production equipment to finance and produce a 10-part web series of two-minute videos to premiere on CreateTV.com.
“Scott is ready for primetime! Personality shines through the camera,” said Buki Elegbede, a judge for the Create Cooking Challenge. “Great presentation and a unique dish I can’t wait to try.”
Growing up in the 1980s, Meeks says his Saturdays were all about cartoons and PBS cooking shows. He credits chefs like Julia Child, Martin Yan and Justin Wilson for inspiring his lifelong love of food. Meeks works as a senior director of video production and social media for Zero Prostate Cancer.
Iris Fairfax, a professional opera singer and content creator living in Philadelphia, is one of two co–second-prize winners. She will receive $1,000 and production equipment for a three-part web series of two-minute videos to premiere on CreateTV.com. Her recipe was for Sausage and Peppers Over Mascarpone Polenta.
Tristan Heath of Mechanicsville, Va., also received a second-place prize of $1,000, production equipment and a three-part shorts series for his Simplified Mexican Chicken Adobo recipe. Heath is a professional chef and has a YouTube channel, Cooking with Tristan.
Create TV is distributed and produced by American Public Television, the WNET Group and GBH in Boston. See the video entries and recipes for all 10finalists.
Content
Becky Sullivan became a sports correspondent for NPR’s National Desk. Sullivan joined NPR in 2011 as an intern for the Arts Desk. She was also a production assistant, an assistant producer for Weekend All Things Considered, a producer for All Things Considered and most recently a reporter covering the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Hamas War. Sullivan will “set aside her devotion” to the Kansas Jayhawks, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals to report on the sporting world, wrote Chief National Editor Ammad Omar and Deputy National Editors Russell Lewis and Catherine Laidlaw in a memo.
Mary Scott Hodgin left her position as a health and science reporter for WBHM in Birmingham, Ala. Hodgin first worked for the station in 2015 as a freelance general assignment reporter. She has also been a podcast host and producer for Deliberate Indifference, a series about Alabama’s prisons. In an interview with Andrew Yeager, managing editor for WBHM, she said she will return to school to become a genetic counselor.
Fellowships
ProPublica selected two public media journalists for its Investigative Editor Training Program, funded by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. Participants will undergo a five-day editing boot camp in New York with courses and panel discussions led by ProPublica senior editors. After the boot camp, participants will gather virtually every two months for seminars and will be assigned a ProPublica senior editor as a mentor. The public media journalists who were selected are Liz Brazile, deputy online managing editor at KUOW in Seattle, and Leah Donnella, senior editor for NPR’s Code Switch.
Send news of “comings and goings” to [email protected]